# authentik vs directus

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | authentik | directus |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 ✓ | 79/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 3 in IAM | #3 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 26 158 | 38 705 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +453 | +749 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | version/2026.8.5 · 21 Oct 2026 | v12.6.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Other | Other |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

authentik scores 81/100 against 79/100 for directus, so it is the safer default.

directus ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for authentik.

## Details

- [authentik](https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik.md)
- [directus](https://selfhost.directory/project/directus) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/directus.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/authentik-vs-directus